To Be Sick Or Not To Be Sick
by hachoo
Summary: Lily was definitely not sick. "Lily dear, I believe you are sick." 'Drat.' James, aided by the Marauders, struggles to convince Lily that rest and recuperation is the best solution. Meanwhile, Lily is struggling with her changing feelings for James. J/L
1. Of Denial and Deceit

**A/N- **So this idea kind of snuck into my head and refused to leave until I wrote it down. I hope you guys enjoy it! I'm not entirely sure why Lily is channelling Hermione's nerd-iness, but it seemed to fit. Just to make things clear: this is set in their 7th year at Hogwarts; Lily and James are friends but nothing more yet. I've nearly finished this, so I'm planning on it being 5 chapters, and updates should be quite regular. Any mistakes are mine, unfortunately. I apologise in advance. One last thing: please _please_ review and I will love you forever. Unless it's a flame… then maybe not. See you on the other side!

**Disclaimer-** Just borrowing them. I'll give them back… maybe *evil smirk*

**To Be Sick Or Not To Be Sick**

**Of Denial and Deceit **

Oh no. She was no sick. Definitely not sick. She was Head Girl, she had duties, and she had classes. She was NOT sick.

"Lily dear, I believe you are sick."

Drat.

Lily pushed the offending thermometer away and stood from the couch.

"No I'm not James. There's probably something wrong with that thing, it's a muggle contraption."

James scrutinised the thermometer, slightly confused.

"But… but Lily, it's not electrical. You said that only electrical items-" Lily rounded on him, eyes flashing.

"I am not sick James!" The fire left her eyes as she slumped back down onto the couch. "I can't be sick. I've got potions, and Professor Slughorn said the potion we'd be making today would almost definitely come up in our N.E.. Not to mention Charms…" Lily's voice trailed off as she looked at James pleadingly.

"Please James, just say I'm not sick and let me go to class?" Lily widened her eyes, stuck out her lower lip, and turned her gaze directly onto James. His own eyes widened for a moment before he shook his head.

"Oh no, do you honestly think I'll cave for that? I think you forgot that I've spent six years bunking with Sirius, Lils. That guy could make McGonagall give him a hug with his pouts!" James sat down next to Lily, who continued to pout at him, frustrated.

"So what, you're saying I don't look cute like this?" She asked him grumpily.

"No, I'm saying that I'd rather you hate me and stay right here than have you wandering around the castle making yourself ill," James informed her seriously. Lily sniffed unhappily.

"How come I'm the one who's sick but you came out of that argument looking like the hero?" She asked grouchily. James had the nerve to smile at her.

"Because I'm always looking out for you" he said with a sincere smile. He then pointed to a stack of books, parchment, quills and ink teetering on the table next to her.

"Those are all yours. Now, if it were up to me you wouldn't be doing anything, but because I'm worried that you might sneak out otherwise, I'm leaving them here. You can only do one subject per hour, got it? Only one."

"I _can_ count James," Lily shot back, mood only slightly improved by her books. She turned to the table and pulled out several sheets of parchment which she handed to James.

"These are my essays. This one's for Defence and this one is for Transfiguration- do _not_ forget to give that one in or McGonagall will transfigure me into a tomato." James looked flabbergasted at the number of pages Lily had handed him. He carefully placed them into his bag next to his own, shorter essays.

"Okay well, I'm going down for breakfast. I'll be back at lunchtime. Now you _stay here_, okay?" James waved his finger warningly at Lily before wrapping a blanket around her shoulders. Lily merely sniffed again, but immediately pulled the blanket tighter around her, enjoying its warmth and comfort as she lay on the couch. James grabbed his own bag and strode out of the portrait hole, leaving a sick Lily in his wake.

Down at the Great Hall, James slid into a spare seat next to Sirius.

"Not like you to be late to breakfast James," Remus commented as James grabbed every dish he could get his hands on. "Lily troubles again?"

"I thought she was starting to warm up to you. Don't tell me you ruined it by doing something stupid," Peter asked. James was prevented from replying due to the sheer amount of sausage he had stuffed into his mouth. Sirius snagged a spare piece of bacon off his plate while they waited for James to swallow.

"No Peter, I didn't do anything bad this time. Lily's sick and I had to convince her not to go to class today. Padfoot, get your own bacon!" James downed a goblet of nearby juice.

"You had to convince her _not_ to go to class?" Sirius looked appalled at the idea that people enjoyed class.

"Don't ask. Anyway, it took some convincing, but I think she's going to stay in the common room today."

"Ahh, young love" Sirius said wistfully as he grabbed another piece of bacon off James' plate. Or at least tried to; James swatted his hand away before eating the piece himself.

"So I'm guessing she wasn't too happy to be sick?" Remus asked, trying to hold back a grin as both Peter and Sirius attacked James' plate despite his vehement protests.

"You bunch of animals! No, she wasn't. Something about Potions and Charms being too important to miss. But she's upstairs now, and I promised to check up on her at lunch." James finally gave up and let his food be devoured by his friends, although not before grabbing a piece of toast from Peter. He rummaged through his bag as he munched.

"Oh damn, we have Charms first up don't we. I left my book upstairs."

Once Sirius and Peter had cleaned James' plate, the four Marauders left the Great Hall, Sirius winking at a group of fifth year girls who all giggled nervously. Remus rolled his eyes while Peter looked on enviously.

"Ok, I'll meet you guys at Charms" James told the other three as they neared the staircase.

"I'll come with you, I need to grab my essay for Flitwick," Remus said and the four separated. James and Remus strode down the nearly empty hallways, and were nearly at the Head's Common Room when Remus suddenly came to a halt.

"James, you said Lily was sick right?" He asked carefully after a moment of silence.

"Right," James replied, confused.

"And you convinced her to stay in the common room because she was sick."

"That's what I said."

"And she promised that she would."

"Well, she didn't actually _promise_ but it was close enough. Moony, what-"

"So if Lily is currently lying in the common room sick, then why can I see her sneaking out?"

"What?" James looked past Remus, and sure enough he could see a figure with red hair emerging from the Common Room clutching a school bag. Said figure did not see them as she was looking the other way, intent on going to Charms.

"She doesn't seem sick" Remus muttered to James as they approached quietly. Any reply from James was cut off by the sound of a giant sneeze.

"Oh. Never mind."

It was only once they were a metre away that Lily seemed to sense their presence. She spun around and was met with the neutral face of one Remus Lupin, and the very angry face of one James Potter.

"Hello Lily."


	2. Of Promises and Plans

**A/N: **Ok, first of I'd like to say thank you to ellie black and Archer117 for their kind reviews on the last chapter; I really appreciated it guys. Secondly, thanks to everyone who put this on story alert! And now, on to the second chapter. I actually quite enjoyed writing this one, so I hope you guys enjoy it! Any mistakes will still be my own. And once again, please review, because your feedback can help improve my writing. Plus it makes me happy!

**Of Promises and Plans**

Lily had tried. Really, she had. She had tried starting an essay for Charms. She had attempted to make a new roster for prefect duties. She had tried falling asleep in front of the fire. She had been a little too successful at that. But the knowledge that she could be in class learning valuable knowledge was just too much. Twenty minutes after James had left, Lily found herself donning her robes, sliding her Charms and Defence Against the Dark Arts book into her bag, stuffing tissues into her pocket, and attempting to make herself look somewhat presentable. This last task she gave up on quite quickly.

Once she felt prepared, she walked to the Portrait and slowly stepped out, glancing to her right to make sure no-one was approaching. Before she could take a step further however, she felt a tickling in her nose, and to her horror she sneezed. Extremely loudly.

"Gesundheit!" The portrait said, smiling at her. She muttered a thank you and was just about to leave when she felt a presence near her. A human presence. Believing it to be a teacher, she spun around, ready to give them her best, most innocent Lily Evans grin and head on her way. To her dismay, it was not a teacher. It was much, much worse.

"Hello Lily."

Lily gulped, the look of anger and disappointment on James' face already causing the guilt to come creeping in.

"J-James. And Remus! What a surprise, I wasn't excepting you back so soon!" She said, giving them a hopeful grin. Neither returned it, although Remus did seem slightly amused.

_Very _slightly.

"You know, it's strange. I was just telling Remus that the Head Girl was doing very poorly, and as a result she _promised_ me that she would stay in the common room until she felt better. Remus found it quite sad that I nearly missed my breakfast trying to convince her, didn't you Remus?"

"I did indeed, James," Remus said gravely.

"I never promised anything," Lily felt the need to point out. James barely seemed to hear her.

"Lily you're _sick_. You're in _no_ state to be _gallivanting_ around the Castle!"

"I would hardly call going to class gallivanting-" Lily objected, but was cut off.

"You're in no state to be _moving_! You should be tucked in bed sleeping this off, not sneaking off to classes!" In any other situation, Lily would be touched at how much James seemed to care about her health, but at that present moment all she could think about was that he telling her what to do.

"It's none of your business what I do Potter! It's my life and-" Lily was cut off by a fit of coughing which racked her body violently. Exclaiming, both James and Remus grabbed her and careful moved her back into the Common Room.

As Lily lay on the couch, catching her breath, James and Remus were quietly discussing their options.

"-Not skipping class for a whole day James-"

"-Can't leave her here unsupervised-"

"-The hospital wing?"

"No!" Lily exclaimed loudly as she caught the last two words. "Not the hospital wing! Don't make me go! Madam Pompfrey will just make me stay in bed without any of my books, and then she'll force medicine down my mouth. Please not the hospital wing!" Her eyes flickered between James and Remus pleadingly.

Remus sighed.

"Lily, we don't have much choice. You can't be left alone; your actions haven't exactly proven you're trustworthy-"

"I am trustworthy! I merely had a… momentary lapse of judgement!" Lily protested. James looked at her skeptically.

"So if we leave you _won't_ try and sneak out to class?" James asked her.|

"I won't," Lily said firmly.

"Do you promise?" James questioned, emphasizing the last word. Lily sighed.

"Yes."

"Yes what?"

"Yes I promise!"

"Now say it in a full sentence."

"Don't make me slap you-"

"Lily."

"Okay fine! I, Lily Evans, promise that I will not leave this common room for the duration of my sickness."

"Now pinkie swear."

"What?" Lily stared at James' pinkie which was currently waggling in her face. She looked at Remus quickly to see if they were joking, but his face was serious. Lily cautiously lifted her own pinkie and hooked it around James'. They held their pinkies together for a few seconds before James' lowered his hand, leaving Lily feeling curiously as though she had just made a legitimate pact. James smirked at her bemused expression.

"Okay, now that we've got that out of the way." He ran up to his room, leaving Lily to glare at Remus for siding with James. He merely shrugged at her apologetically.

"He's right, you are sick. I know from experience that staying in bed makes you feel better." He said, recalling his own experiences of being sick, as well as the days following a transformation.

"He's not an expert on everything. He's not an expert on _me_," Lily said dismissively. "And therefore he has no idea how I deal with sickness."

"Unless you are not human Lily, I'd say rest and recuperation is always the best medicine." James' voice joined the conversation as he came bounding down the stairs, a book and a piece of parchment clutched in his hands. "Ready to go Moony?"

"Yep." The two boys turned to leave, although not before making sure Lily had enough blankets, pillows and tissues around her.

"Oh and Lily?" Lily looked up at James' voice. He flashed her a cheeky grin. "I may not be what you'd call an expert, but I think you'll find that I know you better than you think." With a quick wink, he was gone, leaving Lily sitting on the couch, furiously trying to ignore the warm feeling in her stomach.

Directly outside, Remus turned to James.

"I don't trust her." He said immediately. Call it gut instinct, but he was positive Lily would try sneaking out again. He just hoped James wasn't too lovestruck to see that.

"I know. She'll definitely try to leave again. Takes her education far too seriously, that one" James agreed. Remus looked at his friend, surprised.

"You know James; you're going to make an excellent dad one day."

An eerie silence fell in the corridor. Remus turned to James, who was staring at him on horror.

"Don't _say _things like that Moony!" He exclaimed loudly, one hand clutching his chest. Remus blinked.

"But it was a compliment?"

"You're implying that I'm mature, and… and _responsible_!" James looked at the words coming out of his mouth. Meanwhile, Remus was struggling not to laugh.

"Ah, so sorry old chap. I didn't mean it that way."

"Yes, well…" James still seemed slightly shocked.

"So what are we going to do?" Remus asked, trying to draw James back to their original predicament.

"Do about what?"

"About _Lily_, James!" At the mention of his beloved, James snapped back to attention.

"My dear Moony, I have a plan." James brandished the parchment he had been clutching. A slow grin spread across Remus' face.

"Prongs, you're a genius. Why didn't I think of that?"

"Old age starting to get to you. Or perhaps you're just spending too much time around Padfoot."

"James, I'm only 17 days older than you."

"Details. Shall we blame Sirius then?"

"Oh, we'll definitely blame Sirius."


	3. Of Senility and Soup

**A/N- **Third chapter already! That means we're half way through. Once again like to thank my reviews, because you guys are awesome and pretty much what inspired me to keep posting, so thank you! I hope you all enjoy this chapter.

**Of Senility and Soup**

"Sirius, you have turned me senile," Remus announced as he and James slid into their seats. The room was filled with quiet chattering as class had yet to begin. Sirius was lounging back on his chair, the front two legs off the floor, looking utterly relaxed.

"Have I?" He asked lazily, twirling his wand in the air. Remus kicked the chair and after a loud slam, all four legs were once again on the floor.

"Yeah. You have."

Sirius shot Remus a hurt look, which turned to a point as he was ignored. James rolled his eyes. He was quite sick of pouts.

Before the conversation could continue any further, Professor Flitwick entered the classroom. He collected their homework before beginning the class. James was hardly paying attention however, as he was focused on the very special piece of parchment in front of him. This handy object would let him keep an eye on Lily at all hours of the day.

The Marauders Map.

It was halfway through the lesson when Lily moved. James, who was on the verge of daydreaming, snapped to attention

"Moony, she's on the move! I have to go and stop her!" James whispered, making a move to get up. Remus grabbed his arm.

"Wait!" They both stared at the little Lily figure on the map.

"James, she's going further _in_ to the Common Room. She probably has to use the bathroom or something." Shaking his head, Remus turned back to the front of the classroom, only to be interrupted by Sirius.

"What are you two whispering about?" Sirius asked him quietly, keeping an eye on Flitwick. While Remus explained the situation to Sirius and Peter, James kept a close eye on Lily, who had apparently gone to collect something from her bedroom. Sighing, his head was soon filled with the image of Lily, smiling, laughing, her hair shining in the sunlight, her eyes gleaming with happiness as she called his name…

"Prongs."

James frowned. Since when did Lily call him Prongs?

"Prongs!"

And why was her voice suddenly so low, she had sounded fine this morning. Albeit, slightly congested…

"_Prongs!"_ Someone was hissing his name. Someone who definitely was not Lily. Jerking his head up, he noticed Sirius motioning his head to the front. James looked up to see Flitwick gazing at him disapprovingly.

"Uh sorry Professor. Just have a lot on my mind, it won't happen again." James apologised sincerely. Flitwick, somewhat appeased, resumed teaching. James shook his head slightly. Have to focus.

By the end of the class, there had been two more possible Lily-sneaking-out incidents, both which proved to be false alarms. James had asked Remus if he could just go stay with Lily several times, but Remus refused, saying his education should always come first. The group headed for their next class, Defence Against the Dark Arts. For James, the lesson could hardly have been any slower as he counted the minutes until lunch when he could check on Lily. He was on the verge of banging his head on the table and yelling in frustration when he noticed that his watch had stopped, and rather than having another half hour left they only had five minutes. Mood improved, he resumed his Lily-watch. According to the Map, she was still in the Common Room; however he knew she was planning an escape. It would only be a matter of time.

Indeed Lily _was _planning an escape. Or at least, she had been. After walking up to her room several times, she had been lying on the couch, snuggled up in her blanket, thinking of a way to get out of her promise to James without actually breaking it when-

She had fallen asleep.

It was an hour later when she woke up, her nose completely blocked, and shivers travelling through her body. She stumbled off the couch and reached for the nearest tissue box. After clearing her nose as well as she could, Lily curled back on the couch, but found she couldn't obtain the warmth she had previously felt. The chills left her feeling cold, and she was struggling to wrap the blanket tighter around herself when the common room Portrait opened.

"Hey Lily, how are you feeling?" James' voice asked her kindly. She blinked blearily up at him, and he blinked.

"Wow, you look a _lot_ worse than when I left you!"

The glare Lily gave him was a clear indication that he should not have said that.

"Oh, errr, I mean…" _Crap crap crap!_ James thought in his head_. Note to self: do not comment on a girl's appearance when she is sick. Especially not when that girl is Lily. Dammit, why didn't Sirius warn me about this? Although I suppose in his defence, he's never been in a relationship long enough to have a sick girlfriend. Wait, why am I backing Sirius? No, must be mad at Sirius for spoiling my chances with Lily! And Remus! He reads all those books, I'm sure one of them would have valuable information on girls! Speaking of girls…._

James looked up at the object of his affection and was met with a raised eyebrow.

"James Potter did you just block me out?" Lily asked threateningly, although the effect was somewhat diminished by her congested voice. James' eyes widened.

"What? I would never block you out Lily! I was merely distracted by the gorgeous ray of beauty that you shine on everything surrounding you!" James cried joyously, waving his arms around. Lily's eyebrow remained elevated.

"Siriusly. No wait, I mean SERiously." James nodded to himself, not realising that both words sounded exactly the same when spoken aloud. Lily could feel her eyebrow creeping up to join her hair.

After a slightly awkward pause, Lily decided to ignore James' last few comments and restart the conversation.

"Did you speak to Alice or Marlene by any chance?" She asked. James' eyes lit up.

"Oh yeah! I spoke to them in Charms. They said that they would drop by straight after dinner." Lily's smile faded slightly.

"They-they can't come any earlier?" She asked quietly, before chiding herself for sounding so childish. James looked sympathetically at her.

"They wanted to, they really did. But they both slept in and missed breakfast, and neither of them have any free periods today. But they promised they'd be up as soon as they could," James said comfortingly. Lily sniffed slightly before rubbing her eyes and sitting up straighter.

"No, that's fine" she said, trying to give James a convincing smile. At that precise moment, a loud crack filled the room. Lily let out a loud shriek and leapt at the nearest thing that could protect her. Which incidentally, was James.

It took a few seconds for Lily to realise that the cracking noise posed no threat to her, and she reluctantly detangled herself from her saviour. And then realised who it was.

"Oh!" Lily felt a blush spread across her cheeks, mirroring James' own cheeks. Coughing slightly, she turned to see two house elves standing before her, each clutching a tray.

"Mister Potter sir, we brought your lunch!" The smaller of the two squeaked. James thanked the two elves profusely as he relieved them of their burdens. With another loud crack, they disappeared, leaving behind a very confused Lily.

"Did they say lunch?" She asked. James, who was trying to fit the trays on the table, which was no easy task considering the number of book, nodded.

"Yeah, I went down to the kitchens and asked if they could prepare lunch for us. You didn't think I'd make you starve did you?"

"The kitchens are run by... elves?" Lily asked dazedly as she sat down in the seat James offered. He sat opposite her.

"Well yes dear Lily-kins, how else did you think the food was prepared?"

"I-I never really thought about it to be honest" Lily admitted, shamefaced. James patted her hand consolingly.

"Don't worry, I don't think many people know." Lily smiled sheepishly before removoing the cover of her tray.

"Well I should warn you I'm not hungr- oh my, is that chicken soup?" She breathed deeply (or at least as deeply as she could) and immediately heard her stomach grumble in hunger. James grinned at the sound as he opened his own tray of soup and bread.

"That's all you're eating?" Lily asked, confused. James looked at his meal.

"Well yeah, I was worried that if I brought something else up the smell might make you sick or something" he admitted. Lily smiled at his thoughtfulness.

"Thank you," she said quietly. "I mean it, for everything. I'm a wretched patient, I complain too much, and I'm grumpy, but for some reason which I _cannot_ fathom, you're sticking through it. So thank you." Lily told James sincerely.

"After handling six years of you screaming insults at me, this is actually rather pleasant," James told her honestly, and then ducked to avoid the cushion she threw at him. Lily found herself laughing properly for the first time that day, for once the thought of her missing classes overrun by the overwhelming smell and taste of the soup.


	4. Of Pirates and Princesses

**A/N- **Hello again! Ok, just a quick update: you may recall in the first chapter that I said this story would be 5 chapters long. Well, it's actually changed to 6 chapters now. But don't worry; it's all finished, so it won't take any longer to update. I personally enjoyed writing this chapter, because the Marauders are always fun to write. I hope you guys enjoy it! Having said that, I'd also like to plead with you guys to review. At the moment I have a grand total of one loyal reviewer, who I am extremely appreciative of, but at the same time it's slightly sad to think only one person out there enjoys my writing. So if you can spare the time, please drop a review. Now enough of my depressing rants; on with the story!

**Of Pirates and Princesses**

After lunch, Lily's good mood left her. James had class once again, and none of her friends were free to come visit her. It wasn't that she needed company, but if she was honest, she just preferred having someone with her. James, sensing her sadness, smiled secretively.

"Right Lily-flower, I am off to class. Now, the same rules apply as before lunch, okay?" Lily hummed in response, the thought of spending several hours alone not appeasing her mood in the slightest.

"Oh I forgot to mention, I arranged some company for you. Since your friends couldn't make it, I decided that I could loan you some of mine for a little while." With a flourish, James opened the Portrait, revealing the grinning faces of three males.

"Oh no," Lily groaned as she yanked the blanket over her head.

"You know Prongs, for a second there I was under the impression that dear Lily-flower was not happy to see us!" Came the joyous voice of Sirius Black. A second later Lily heard a thump followed by a squeal of pain. She lowered her blanket curiously to see Peter clutching his foot in agony, glaring at a book. Lily's Transfiguration book, to be exact.

Whoops.

"You should know Lily, you'll never have a quiet moment with them around," Remus warned her, grinning slightly.

"Them? You're not staying?" Lily looked slightly horrified that it was only Peter and Sirius keeping her company for the next hour and a half. Remus looked slightly guilty.

"Err no, James and I have Transfiguration, sorry. But hey, are you feeling any better?" Remus asked. Lily nodded vigorously.

"Yeah, that chicken soup did wonders! I almost feel well enough to go to-"

"Not happening Lily" James said loudly. Lily grumbled. Sirius and Peter both sat in nearby chairs while James collected his bag.

"Guys, don't scare Lily too much alright? And Lily, do not under any circumstances give either of them chocolate." Lily started laughing before she realised James was completely serious.

"Umm ok," she said wearily. With a hearty wave, the two Marauders left, leaving Lily alone with the other two. A silence filled the room as the three looked at each other.

Blink.

Blink.

Blink.

"Sooooooooo, what do you want to do?" Sirius broke the silence. Peter shrugged.

"I don't know."

"I was talking to Lily, Wormtail."

Peter blushed.

"Well I was going to work on my Charms essay…" Lily's voice trailed off at the look of disgust both boys gave her.

"Lily, I don't quite understand you" Sirius began conversationally, lounging back on his armchair, and managing to look casually handsome. Peter attempted to copy the move, but after nearly sliding onto the floor, resumed his original position. Lily meanwhile was frowning at Sirius.

"Well I'm a complex person Sirius; I wouldn't expect you to understand me."

"No no, you're quite easy to read. The thing I don't understand is how can you _possibly_ voluntarily do an essay when number one: you are sick, and number two: it's not due for another two weeks?" Sirius propped his head on his palms and gazed at her, waiting for her to answer.

"First of all, I am not that sick. I could be in class right now if James wasn't making me stay here. And secondly, don't you find that it's easier to do your essays earlier? It leaves more time to study!" Lily, so caught up in her enthusiasm, failed to notice the horrified expressions being exchanged.

"I give up." Sirius threw his hands into the air before leaping off the couch. Peter followed suit.

"It's not that hard to understand-" Sirius cut Lily off before she could begin her 'education is a vital component of an adolescent's life' rant.

"How about we play Quidditch?" Sirius suggested loudly. Peter clapped excitedly. Lily screwed up her nose.

"What? Ew no. Besides, I'm not allowed outside remember?" Lily reminded them. Then she smacked herself on the forehead for reminding them.

"Oh right. Oh ok, let's go throw dungbombs at the Slytherins!" Peter whooped loudly.

"Sirius that's terrible! Besides, still not allowed to leave this Common Room. And I really need to stop telling you that!" Lily exclaimed. Peter's shoulders drooped.

"But then there's nothing to do!" Sirius said sadly, slumping back on the couch.

"You could always try reading" Lily suggested casually, sneaking a look at her Transfiguration book. _So close_….

"Reading? Like… like a story book?" Sirius looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Well I was thinking more school books, but I'm sure we could find a story book."

"What kind of stories do they have?"

"I don't know… Muggles have all kinds of stories, about Princesses and Princes, evil step mothers, Pirates, knights in shining armour-"

Peter's eyes lit up. "Tell us one with a Princess!" He exclaimed. Sirius looked at him weirdly.

"No, tell us one with a Pirate! They're the ones who drink a lot and steal treasure right?" Sirius asked excitedly. Lily stifled a laugh.

"Yeah, that's them." Noticing the sad look on Peter's face, she hurriedly made a compromise. "How about I tell you a story with Pirates _and_ Princesses?" Both boys' faces lit up.

To Lily's complete shock, she found she was enjoying herself. Sirius and Peter proved to be a wonderful audience, even getting up to act out the fight scene between Pirates. Lily had practically forgotten about her sore throat, runny nose and her fever as she watched Sirius force Peter to 'walk the plank'. Which was really just jumping off the end of the couch.

It was near the end of the story when James and Remus walked back in. Expecting the Common Room to be a mess and Lily nearly in tears, they were amazed to find Sirius and Peter both lying on the ground facing Lily, who was explaining how the Princess (who Peter had named Lily) married the good Pirate (Sirius had dubbed him James despite Lily's protests) and the bad Pirate (whose name was still undecided; suggestions had included Voldermort, Snape, and strangely enough Sirius) went to prison, never to see the sunlight again.

"Well it serves him right," Sirius said passionately. "Imagine trying to get in the way of true love!"

James and Remus looked at each other with wide eyes.

"Oh hello boys!" Lily called cheerfully, grinning at them.

"Hey Lily, is everything alright?" James asked cautiously. All three nodded their heads.

"Lily-flower told us a _story_ James. About Princess Lily who is kidnapped by an evil Pirate named Snape-"

"Voldermort."

"Sirius."

"- and then-"

"You forgot to tell them _why_ she was kidnapped Padfoot!" Peter interjected.

"Oh right! Well she was kidnapped because her father had lots of money that the Pirate wanted, and-"

"As much as I'd like to hear the end of this, we have a class to get to," Remus interrupted as he looked at his watch. Sirius', Peter's, and strangely enough Lily's, faces fell.

"Now?" All three asked sadly. Remus, feeling much like the mean parent, sighed.

"Sorry." With a moan, Peter and Sirius got up from the floor.

"We'll come back and visit Lily!" Peter promised. Sirius nodded in agreement.

"And you can tell us all the other stories you know!" Lily grinned.

"I look forward to it." As soon as Peter and Sirius had left to collect their bags, James and Remus rounded on Lily with a questioning look. She shrugged.

"What?"

"You- you didn't kill them. Or shout at them." Remus said in shock.

"They're actually not that bad," Lily said nonchalantly. James grinned suddenly.

"That's great! Hey, I like your friends, now you like _my_ friends… it's all coming together!" Lily's eyes narrowed.

"What's coming together?"

James shifted under her glare. "Umm… nothing?" He shot her an innocent grin. Her eyes narrowed further.

James coughed and changed the conversation. "So, you look a lot better!"

"I feel a lot better too. By tomorrow I'll definitely be up and about," Lily said confidently. James smiled sincerely.

"That's really great. So, what are you going to do in the meantime? Alice and Marlene should be up in two hours or so." Lily suddenly looked sheepish.

"Err well I was thinking, I might take a nap." The last part of the sentence was uttered so quietly James and Remus almost missed it.

"Aha! So you _do_ admit you're sick and need rest!" James crowed triumphantly. Lily's eyes flashed.

"No, I just admit that I'm tired and I want to sleep!" She corrected. James continued his victory dance regardless. Remus sighed and looked pointedly at his watch.

"James? _Class_?" He said emphatically. James stopped his dancing.

"Ah yes. We shall return soon, fair maiden! Or actually, flushed maiden- your cheeks are a bit red," James noted worriedly, reaching to touch her forehead. His hand was only centimetres away when he realised how close they were and jumped back.

"Oh! Sorry Remus, didn't mean to whack you…. is that your tooth? Oh I'm sorry. I didn't mean to- don't look at me like that, I apologised! Come on, let's get you to the hospital wing, I'm sure Madam Pompfrey can stick it back in…"

The two left, Remus covering his mouth with one hand. Lily was left sitting on the couch, her cheeks growing steadily darker as she realised how close James had been to her. No, that was a lie. Her cheeks were growing darker as she realised how much she'd _enjoyed_ James being close to her.

Drat.

She was prevented from any further dissection of this new revelation by the re-appearance of Sirius and Peter, who has apparently doubled-back.

"Lily, we just wanted to arrange our next story time with you," Sirius informed her, well, seriously. Lily laughed slightly, and was about to suggest a time when a thought occurred to her.

"How did James know I was sneaking out?" She asked out loud. Peter shrugged.

"Well he accidentally caught you the first time, but since then he's been keeping a watch on the map." He said casually. Lily frowned.

"What map?"

"Our map. The-" Peter was cut off by Sirius, who elbowed him sharply and gave him a warning look.

"It's nothing. So, time and place Lily?" Sirius prompted. But Lily wasn't listening, too caught up in the burst of inspiration that had struck her. She grinned brightly at the two males before her.

"What?" Sirius asked wearily.

"I've just figured out how I'm going to get out of here. And you two are going to help me do it." Lily proclaimed.


	5. Of Upsets and Understandings

**A/N-** So here's the chapter a few of you have been waiting for: Lily's grand escape! Well, maybe not so grand, but hey, it's an escape! Sorry this chapter is a little more…. Well, it's a bit different to the others. Slightly more serious at some parts, I think. I don't know why, it just came out like that. Anyway, thanks again to everyone who reviewed! Your words mean more than you can imagine. Special mention to elliey black whose enthusiasm keeps me updating. And thanks to everyone for the alerts and favourite-ing too. Remember, just one more chapter to go after this, so keep reviewing!

**Of Upsets and Understandings**

"I'm going to get Lily back for this," Sirius hissed as he and Peter ran down the corridor towards the hospital wing. Peter, panting besides him, grunted in agreement.

"But after she tell us another story," Sirius added as an afterthought. Peter grunted again.

The two were near the entrance to the hospital wing when they stopped running and straightened up their clothes, trying not to look harried.

"Ok remember, I'll distract, you go for the map." Sirius reminded Peter before they opened the door.

"Prongs! Moony!" Sirius said happily, walking towards his friends. Remus was seated on a nearby bed, having just had his tooth returned to its rightful place in his gums. Madam Pompfrey was giving him instruction to treat it carefully for the next few days just in case whilst James stood beside him, looking sheepish.

"Hullo Padfoot" James greeted him with a slight smile.

"Lily told us what happened. How's the tooth Moony? Oh hello Poppy!" Sirius grabbed Madam Pompfrey's hand and kissed it, leaving the usually stern woman quite flustered. He then wrapped an arm around James' shoulders. "Cheer up buddy, it's not like you permanently knocked it out!" James smiled again, this time slightly more genuine, completely unaware that Peter was in the process of removing the Marauders map from his pocket.

"Well, I guess we'd better be off then," Remus said as he stood from the bed. Peter shoved the map into his robe pockets quickly, and nodded at Sirius' questioning look. The four teens headed to the door and departed for their respective classes; James and Sirius to potions, Remus to Arithmancy and Peter to Care of Magical Creatures. Or so it would seem; in fact, Peter headed back to the Heads Common Room.

"Here it is" he handed Lily the blank map reluctantly. She examined it closely, frowning.

"There's nothing on this," she said.

"Well I'm not going to show you how to work it! It's bad enough that it's in your possession. Sirius is going to be mighty cross with you for a while for making him betray James," Peter grumbled.

"Then how do I know it's the real map?" Lily asked slowly. Peter blinked, before removing it from her hands. Turning his back to her, he quietly muttered something, before turning around to face her, holding the map up. Lily gasped as ink lines began to form on the previously blank paper. She could just about make out the third floor when the map was removed from her line of sight.

"Happy?" Peter turned around again and muttered something before handing her the once again blank parchment. Lily placed it inside one of her books carefully, before grabbing her bag.

"Well, thank you very much. I'll see you and Sirius next week then." She said happily as she headed to class.

It was only once she was just about to enter the classroom that she realised a slight flaw in her plan. She had potions. James and Sirius also had potions. Therefore, through a carefully thought out equation, she could conclude that there was no way she could enter the classroom without James noticing. In a split second decision, she decided to go in. What could James do to stop her anyway? He could hardly tell Professor Slughorn that she was sick and escort her back!

James' eyes widened as Lily entered the classroom. He immediately turned to Sirius, who was carefully avoiding his eyes. A clear sign that he was somehow involved.

"I'll deal with you later," James growled at Sirius before standing up.

"Lily!" He half yelled, attracting the attention of every student in the class, as well as Professor Slughorn. Lily's eyes widened at the sudden focus on her.

"I'm sorry Professor, but I'm afraid I have to escort Lily back to the Gryffindor common room. You see, she's quite ill-"

"No I'm not!"

"-but she refuses to stay in bed because she absolutely adores Potions-"

"I'm not sick!" Lily protested.

"-however despite how important Potions is, I feel that her health should be placed first. I'm sure you would agree with me Professor?" James concluded. Professor Slughorn looked slightly taken aback.

"I- Lily my dear, are you sick?" He was worriedly.

"I'm not!" Lily declared, grinning slightly. She could easily convince Slughorn to let her stay. She was his favourite student, after all. Nothing James said could convince him. Nothing.

"Professor, if you'll let me demonstrate. Within the next half a minute, Lily will sneeze twice, and then cough." James said confidently.

All eyes turned to Lily. She laughed slightly, knowing James was bluffing. How on earth did he expect people to believe he knew her well enough to-

Uh oh.

Lily could feel it creeping in her nose. A sneeze. Her eyes widened as she desperately tried to control her sinuses. She twitched her nose slightly before taking in a deep breath, determined that the sneeze would not escape.

Twenty seconds later, she sneezed. Twice. These two sneezes were promptly followed by a cough. The class exploded in applause at James' ability to predict Lily's sneezes. Lily meanwhile was fuming. Professor Slughorn approached her.

"I'm afraid I'll have to let Mr Potter escort you back to your dormitories Lily," he told her. She sighed and nodded.

"I understand Professor," she said sadly, turning and leaving with James trailing behind her. Professor Slughorn dabbed the corner of his eye slowly as he watched her leave.

"Such dedication," he marvelled, before turning back to resume teaching.

Outside the classroom, Lily was facing the wrath of one very unhappy James Potter. He wasn't yelling at her. It was much worse than that. He was completely ignoring her. Lily almost had to run to keep up with his much longer strides.

"James…. slow... down, would… you?" She asked, panting. Suddenly, James whirled around to face her.

"Slow down? You want me to slow down Lily? Why would you want me to slow down if you're not sick, as you keep telling everyone?" James' voice was rapidly increasing in volume as he walked closer to her. Lily shrank slightly.

"I-" she couldn't think of anything to say. James nodded.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. Perfect Lily, determined to do whatever she wants whenever she wants, regardless of the consequences. Right?"

Lily felt a sudden fury rise in her at James' words.

"Well you don't have any right to tell me what to do, _Potter_," she spat out. "You're not my dad! You're not my mum; you're not anything to me!"

A silence fell between the two. Lily had been wishing she could take back her words as soon as they left her mouth, but it was too late. James meanwhile didn't say anything, instead looking at the floor. It was several minutes before he spoke again.

"I may not be anything to you Lily, but I care about you enough to try and look out for you. If my efforts have inconvenienced you, I'm sorry" James said tonelessly, looking her in the eyes for the first time, and Lily could see just how hurt he was by her words.

"James, I didn't mean-" But he had already started walking again, resuming the path to the Common Room, and Lily realised that despite their argument, despite everything, he still intended to drop her off. Unable to say anything, she followed him to their Common Room. Once they reached the Portrait entrance, James turned to go, but was stopped.

"James, please. _Please_ just come inside and let me explain," Lily pleaded. James wanted to leave, but when Lily asked him in that voice, how could he refuse? He slowly walked into the Common Room, her words still weighing down his heart. He sat down on a nearby couch, while Lily stood a few metres away from him.

"I blackmailed Sirius and Peter into stealing the map off you. I told them I wouldn't tell them any more stories if they didn't." Lily rushed. "So you can't blame them, they didn't want to. I know they both felt terrible about betraying you. Sirius is already refusing to talk to me, and Peter didn't seem very happy with me either."

James said nothing, instead continued to stare at his hands. Lily took a step closer.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I'm sorry for sneaking out, and I'm sorry for blackmailing your friends, but I'm mostly sorry for what I said earlier. You don't mean nothing to me, in fact it's almost the opposite, you mean too much to me and I don't quite know how to explain it so I let my emotions get the better of me and then I explode and say things I don't mean, and-" Lily stopped, realising she was rambling.

"My point is, you've been so wonderful to me, and taken so much time and effort to try and keep me well, and I want- I _need_ you to know that it means so much to me. _You_ mean so much to me," Lily said, her voice barely louder than a whisper, but James could hear every word. He looked up at Lily, who was blushing. She held his gaze, and was relieved to see a warm smile spread across his face. Lily felt a great weight leave her chest.

"So… are we okay?" She asked hesitantly. James paused for a second, before nodding.

"Yeah, we're okay." He said, and the air between them seemed to clear immediately.

"So you won't get angry at Sirius and Peter, right?" Lily asked worriedly.

"They'll get what comes to them," James said, before noticing Lily's horrified expression. "Oh no, it won't be anything bad. Just a small prank to remind them not to betray me. I would think that after last time, Sirius would remember," James reminisced fondly.

"What happened last time?" Lily asked curiously.

"Sirius 'accidentally' broke my broom. He was flying it when I told him not to. So I put a sticking charm on his chair, and he was stuck to it for a whole day."

Lily laughed, remembering the day in their fifth year. "I remember that! I always wondered who did it to him!"

"Yes well, I'll have to come up with something worthy to fit their current crime," James said. He then remembered that he still had class.

"Oh, I should get to Potions!" He exclaimed, grabbing his bag. He was nearly out the door when he turned back to Lily.

"Lily-"

"James, I swear to you this time, I won't leave the Common Room. You have my word," Lily promised. To prove she was telling the truth, she pulled the map out of her Transfiguration book and handed it to him. He took it with a grin.

"I'll see you later," and with a roguish wink he took off, leaving Lily alone to ponder their conversation and her feelings in peace.


	6. Of Friends and Feelings

**A/N- **This is it! The very last chapter. I'm slightly apprehensive about it; I must have changed it about five times. I just couldn't decide exactly what I wanted James to do in the end, and this was the best I could come up with, so feedback would be much appreciated. Anyway, I hope you've all enjoyed the journey. I know I have. Thanks again to everyone who reviewed and favourite, because you guys are awesome. And please, drop a review when you finish because I would love to know your opinions on this. So, without further ado, I present:

**Of Friends and Feelings**

Lily was in a restless slumber when she heard the Portrait creak open. She stiffened slightly, unsure how she was meant to handle being alone with James.

"Lily? Lily, are you here?"

"Where else would she be, she's sick Alice!"

"I'm just giving her some warning in case she's… indecent or something."

"What, you think she's going to be dancing around the common room half naked when she's _sick_?"

Lily burst out laughing at the image, surprising her two friends.

"Marlene, Alice!" She cried happily, overjoyed that her friends were finally there. She was met with two similar grins.

"Lily, how are you feeling?" Alice asked in concern as she and Marlene took a seat. Lily shrugged her shoulders.

"Better than I was. I'm pretty sure by tomorrow I'll be fine," Lily said happily. Marlene was distracted by the delicious smell wafting from the table.

"What is that?" She asked as she peered at it curiously.

"It's… it's soup! Why is there a bowl of soup here?" Alice asked. Lily blushed slightly.

"Oh um, the house elves probably brought it for me when I was asleep."

"House elves?"

"Yeah, apparently the kitchens are run by house elves!"

"Wouldn't that make them kitchen elves?"

"Marlene!"

"What, I'm just _asking_…"

"Hang on a second Lily," Alice said as she stood up. "Why would the house elves bring you soup? They didn't bring me soup when I was sick last year."

Lily's blush deepened.

"Um well, most likely because….. Jamesaskedthemtobringitforme."

"Sorry, didn't catch that last bit," Marlene said cheerfully. Lily glared at her.

"James may possibly have asked them to bring it for me." She said slowly, although her cheeks were still flushed.

"James. James Potter, the boy you have repeatedly called arrogant, a bully, a toerag, as well as several combinations of the aforementioned? Do you mean _that_ Ja-"

"Yes, I get the point. And yes, that James. He had them bring me lunch before," Lily explained, before pointedly attempting to change the subject. "So how was Potions today?"

But Marlene and Alice were not to be sidetracked.

"That's so sweet of James to arrange lunch and dinner to be brought to you!" Alice squealed, clapping her hands together. Lily sighed as she grudgingly picked up the bowl, the cause of the entire interrogation, and began sipping at it. Her negative mood left as soon as the spoon touched her lips however; she was quite sure there was something magical about the soup.

Yes, he's been very sweet to me today," she noted as she took another sip of the glorious soup. Marlene's head perked up.

"You like him!" She accused Lily loudly. Lily looked up, startled.

"What? No I don't!" She protested, but her reddening cheeks gave her away. Both Alice and Marlene squealed.

"You do!" Alice cried out, grinning.

"No, I just- he's been very nice today, and I'm just- oh stop laughing!" Lily cried out. Her two friends payed no attention to her, both giggling excitedly.

"After six years," Marlene gasped, out of breath. "Six years and you finally fall for him. Oh Merlin, I never thought I'd see this day!"

"Well I always knew," Alice said confidently. "I knew you would see how much he's matured this year."

Lily meanwhile was sitting still, unsure what course of action she was meant to take. She liked James. The same male she had declared would come second to the giant squid in her dating preference.

What on earth was she meant to do now?

"Do you admit it?" Marlene grabbed Lily's arm, drawing her attention. "Do you admit you like him?"

"Yes," Lily whispered finally, smiling despite herself as her two friends squealed loudly again.

Meanwhile in the Gryffindor Common Room, the Marauders were celebrating the return of their fourth member for the few hours before bed. Plus James had finally removed the spell he had placed on Sirius and Peter. Although Peter and Sirius insisted it was not a spell, it was a curse.

"Its good to have you back with us Prongs," Sirius said as devoured his fifth chocolate frog in the past two minutes. James had placed a spell on his two friends which resulted in them repelling chocolate. Sirius had only noticed when he had tried to pick up a chocolate frog and it had flown two metres down the table from him. James personally felt the best moment of the night was when Peter had attempted to leap onto the chocolate pudding only to face plant on the table as the pudding flew out of reach.

James had actually forgiven his friends as soon as Lily had told him she blackmailed them. However he was never one to turn down the opportunity for a good prank, and since the best pranks were those performed on people who deserved them, he felt quite satisfied.

Once the spell had been removed, Sirius and Peter had raided the kitchen, collected any and all chocolates and brought them back up to feast on. Remus and James had eagerly joined in. Not that there was much chocolate left to eat; Sirius and Peter seemed intent on making up for lost time by consuming as much chocolate as they could.

"Sirius, you make it sound like I've been gone for a long time." James grabbed his own chocolate frog from the increasingly diminishing pile.

"But you have been gone!" Peter exclaimed, wide eyed.

"Only in the night time! I see you all everyday! Not to mention the occasional moonlit stroll," James said cryptically.

"It's not the same," Peter said sadly. Sirius nodded in agreement. James turned to Remus for help, and was rewarded with a shrug.

"It is different without you up there," he admitted. James groaned, although he was secretly pleased he had such an impact on his friends.

"No, but its true!" Sirius insisted. "How many nights did we stay up planning pranks together?"

"Or putting those pranks into action," Remus added.

"Or doing detention as a result of those pranks" Peter finished. A slow grin spread across James' face.

"Remember that time we tried to put Flobberworms in the Slytherin dormitories and McGonagall nearly caught us?" James began. Sirius perked up.

"Who could forget that? We had to leg it to the nearest room whilst hiding the Flobberworms!"

"And then Peter dropped one and McGonagall stepped on it," Remus reminisced.

"The look on her face!" Sirius crowed and the four burst out laughing. It was several minutes before they could speak again.

"That detention was so worth it," Peter gasped out before they all collapsed into a fit of laughter once more.

Several hours later, James was trekking back to his own dormitory, a grin on his face. Sometimes he forgot how much he missed sleeping in the same dormitory as his friends. He entered the Heads Common Room only to find Alice and Marlene about to leave. They gestured for him to be quiet, pointing at the sleeping form behind them.

"She nodded off about five minutes ago," Marlene whispered as they turned to leave.

"Okay, I'll get her up to bed." James said. He was slightly confused by the sight of Alice beaming at him inexplicably. He gave a cautious grin, and her smile widened.

"Oh for goodness sake," Marlene hissed and pushed her out of the dormitory. James stared at the Portrait which closed behind them, completely baffled. He was disrupted from his thoughts when Lily mumbled a word and turned slightly in her sleep. James hated to wake her, but he knew that sleeping in her bed would be best for her.

"Lily," he whispered and gently shook her shoulder.

No response.

"Lily," he whispered slightly louder, and more insistently.

Still no response.

"Lily!" James shouted, and was rewarded with a hand slamming into his cheek.

"Ow!" James cried out, clutching his cheek.

"Ow!" Lily cried out, clutching her hand. She looked around wildly before spotting James. "James? What- what happened?"

"You hit me!" James exclaimed, still nursing his cheek. Lily's eyes widened.

"What? Why?"

"Well_ I_ don't know! I was trying to be all nice and wake you up so you wouldn't have to sleep on the couch and you _hit me_!" He sounded affronted and was pouting slightly. His cheek was turning bright red, a clear hand imprint now visible. Lily looked horrified.

"Gosh, I'm so sorry James!" She cried as she looked around for something cool to lie on his cheek. Unfortunately in the middle of winter, no such object was laying around. So she settled for placing her own palm against his cheek. She was unable to see whether this had a positive effect or not however, because as soon as her palm came into contact, James' entire face flushed red.

Meanwhile, Lily was struggling against her own flush. '_Don't blush, don't blush, there's nothing remotely embarrassing about this,'_ she told herself. '_You're just touching James' cheek; it's not like you're touching his chest or something… his tanned chest. Muscled, tanned chest. No, don't think about that! Think about something else. Like his hair. Stupid, messy, untameable hair. Black, and unruly and it looks really soft. I wonder if he'll let me touch it._ _No Lily, __**stop thinking about touching James**__!'_

Lily, cheeks now red, looked up at James, who was also sporting red cheeks. She avoided glancing at his chest and hair.

"So um, does it feel a bit better?" She asked, gesturing with her other hand to his cheek. James nodded slowly, seeming slightly out of it.

'_Hand on cheek. Hand on cheek! James my boy, this is a big improvement. Voluntary contact! Six years of pining has finally paid off!'_ was James' line of thought. He shook his head slightly as he realised Lily's lips were moving again.

"… heading off to bed now. Thanks again James, for everything. I really appreciate it," Lily said, and with a shy smile planted a kiss on James' smarting cheek.

It was five minutes later when James could finally move. When he did, it was a slow walk to his bedroom, his eyebrows seemingly permanently raised, his mouth forming a small 'o'. And so it was that James Potter went to bed the happiest man alive, a hand still touching the spot where Lily's lips had made contact with his skin.

The next morning, James woke up very early, a goofy smile on his face. Getting ready quickly, he raced to the Gryffindor boy's dormitory with the intention of telling his friends the good news. However the sight that met his eyes there drove any thoughts of Lily from his mind.

Peter was curled into a ball on his bed, coughing harshly. Sirius, sprawled on his bed with a flushed face, held up his arms to James pathetically, his nose streaming. Remus let out a loud sneeze and grabbed for the nearest tissue. James stared at his three best friends. His three_ sick_ best friends.

"I think we caught what Lily had," Peter told him croakily. Remus opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by another sneeze. Sirius merely sniffed sadly.

"Prongsie, I want breakfast," he informed James, eyes bloodshot.

At the thought of breakfast, Peter ran into the bathroom.

Remus sneezed.

James let a loud groan escape his lips as he realised exactly what awaited him.

_The End. _


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